Related Information

CPP Eligibility Factor - Poor Social Skills of the Child

Clarification of Eligibility Factor

This eligibility factor encompasses all aspects of a child’s social and emotional
well-being, including:

The ability to form satisfying relationshipswith adults and peers.

The ability to understand and express emotions in socially acceptable
ways.

The ability to resolve conflict, and cope with challenges.

The ability to meet developmentally appropriate social and behavioral
expectations including self-regulation and social problem solving

How It May Be Documented

Exclusion or expulsion from other preschool/child care programs or
community activities

Social services or medical referrals

Parent interview questions/report

Staff documentation on home visits or developmental assessments

Significance of Factor in regards to School Readiness

Early learning and early social and emotional development are closely connected. Social and emotional development involves the acquisition of skills needed to play and work with peers, to regulate emotions in prosocial ways, to communicate with adults, to control negative emotions and be aware of social customs within one's community.

A child’s emotional status affects early school performance, which in turn, predicts later school outcomes. Children who have difficulty with the following do less well in school:

Paying attention

Following directions

Getting along with others

Controlling negative emotions of anger and distress (Raver, 2002)

When children’s challenging behavior persists, the problems are likely to worsen and become compounded by related problems including peer and adult rejection and coercive relationships. Early appearing behavior problems in a child’s preschool career are the single best predictor of delinquency in adolescence, gang membership and adult incarceration.

Huffman, L. C., Mehlinger, S. L., & Kerivan, A. S. (2000). "Risk factors for academic and behavioral problems at the beginning of school," as found in A Good Beginning: Sending America's Children to School. with the Social and Emotional Competence They Need to Succeed (monograph). Bethesda, MD: The Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies Network. Retrieved June 2, 2010, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED445810.pdf

Raver, C. & Knitzer, J. (2002). Ready to enter: What research tells policymakers about strategies to promote social and emotional school readiness among three- and four-year-old children. National Center for Children in Poverty. Retrieved July 2, 2009, from http://nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_485.pdf